From the Beginning
by fyreangel5
Summary: This takes us back to when Logan Echolls first moves to Neptune, and how he meets his friends. Also includes Truth or Dare like you’ve never played before. This is a cowritten story, and my coauthor is Neko Kuroban.
1. By Heatherb5

Title: From The Beginning  
Rating: T  
Reasons for rating: nothing too major  
Ships: None  
Summary: This takes us back to when Logan Echolls first moves to Neptune, and how he meets his friends. Also includes Truth or Dare like you've never played before.  
Word Count: 4142  
Disclaimer: I do not own Veronica Mars or any of the Characters.  
Shout out: Thank you Mary0112 for being my Beta!  
Author's Note: This story was supposed to be a collaboration with another author, but that ended up not working out. So I wanted to take what I wrote and not let it go to waste. It's now a OneShot, and I would love to know what everyone thinks.

XOXOXOXOXO

Veronica knew she shouldn't be nervous, but she was anyway. There she was under all of those streaming white lights. Looking around and seeing so many screaming faces made her heart speed up. As she hears the whistle, she looks over to see the referee standing in position. He blew the whistle again, and she takes off. The wind blowing in her hair, the blood pounding in her veins, and the sound of her breathing taking over the sound of the screaming fans in the stands.

The ball comes towards her, and she stops it with her foot as she continues to run with it. The boy in front of her looms closer as he tries to steal the ball from her. She fakes right and goes left around him, just in time for a girl to take his place. Veronica dodges her, and the white poles take over her vision. She lifts her right leg behind her, and as she swings it back down, a sharp pain shoots up that leg as the ground creeps up on her fast.

The next thing she knows, she's laying on top of someone as the pain washes over her. In a daze she rolls over and a face takes up her vision. She realizes it's the referee, and it dawns on her that he's talking to her. She looks over to her left and sees her parents running towards her. She takes the referee's hand and pulls herself up. She tries to walk off the pain in her ankle as her parents, her teammates and her coach surround her asking if she's okay.

Shrugging it off, she tell everyone she's fine. The referee blows his whistle again and her parents and her coach leave the field. She walks over to the referee and he hands her the ball. She puts it down and steps back. Looking at the goal post and the goalie, she mentally calculates where to hit the ball. She runs and kicks it as hard as she can. The ball sails forward as the goalie runs and dives. The ball lands just out of reach of those hands to fall inside of the net. Veronica jumps up and down on her good foot as her teammates surround her to congratulate her.

The clock stops, and the game is over. Veronica just scored the game winning goal. Duncan Kane wraps his arm around her shoulders as he leads her over towards their families.

"Way to go tiger!" Her father says as he wraps her up in his arms and gives her a bear hug. "Are you okay? How's your leg feel?"

"I'm okay daddy, it's probably just a sprain."

"Hey Veronica I want you to meet a new friend of mine. Veronica Mars, meet Logan Echolls, son of movie stars Lynn and Aaron Echolls."

That's Lilly Kane. Duncan's sister, and Veronica's best friend. Veronica notices the flash of annoyance that takes over Logan's face at the way he was introduced. Though he was probably used to it by now, she could tell it still bothers him. But that was just how Lilly was. Everyone needed to know how fabulous she was, and that she only hung out with important people. Veronica smiles at Logan and rolls her eyes at Lilly. She shyly sticks out her hand for him to shake. He was cute, and Veronica was shy around cute guys.

"Nice to meet you Logan Echolls. Did you just move here?"

"Yeah, we just moved here from L.A. Guess dad needed a change of scenery. Never mind that I'll be starting middle school in a month." Veronica smiled.

"Me too. Maybe we'll have some classes together. I'm excited and nervous to be starting a new school, but I know I'll have a great time."

"Veronica, honey we're ready to leave." That was Lianne Mars, her mother.

"Would you like to join us Logan? The whole team's heading over to Dairy Queen to celebrate. It's a tradition after every game, whether we win or not." Veronica explained. Logan smiled.

"I would love to come."

"Great you can ride with us." Veronica grabbed his arm and followed her parents to their car.

XOXOXOXOXO

Once they were seated in the diner, Logan and Lilly on one side, and Veronica and Duncan on the other, she decided to get to know Logan more.

"So Logan, what do you think about Neptune so far?"

"Today was my first day of taking in the sights. Lilly showed me around all day, and the last stop was your soccer game. Neptune seems just like L.A."

"Yeah, well L.A. isn't as fabulous. They don't have Lilly Kane to grace their presence every morning." Lilly explained why Neptune was so much better, as everyone else laughed.

The waitress came over and took their order, and then left to go get their drinks.

"So Veronica, how long have you known the Kanes?" Logan wanted to know.

"Wow, umm since elementary school. Second grade, this girl Felicia was picking on me because I was so small, I couldn't defend myself. Then came Lilly to the rescue. By the time she was done with Felicia, she had her crying for her mommy. We've been inseparable ever since." Veronica and Lilly smile at the memory.

"Lilly, I thought you were older than us. That you were already in middle school. How were you able to defend Veronica?" Logan wanted to know.

"Simple. Our classes had the same recess. Besides, I'm only a year older and I'll only be in the 7th grade," Lilly sighed dramatically. "One more year after that and then it's off to High School." She squealed in delight, "I cannot wait!"

The waitress came over with the drinks. Veronica and Logan had a root beer float, Lilly had a strawberry milk shake, and Duncan had vanilla. They chatted some more until the food came, and they ate in silence. After that, everyone went there separate ways for the night, with promises of hanging out the next day.

XOXOXOXOXO

Logan Echolls stood in front of his family's new mansion staring at it pondering if he should give it a chance and like it or not. Granted it was even bigger and better than the last one, with his father making more money each year.

"Honey why don't you come inside?" His mother Lynn Echolls called out from inside the house. He shrugged his shoulders and walked through the threshold. Immediately he took in his surroundings. Huge foyer, with the winding staircase leading to the upstairs area. Walking straight ahead led him into what would become the living room, where his mother was directing the movers where to put the couches. He kept wandering and ended up in the kitchen, with its very own island in the center with a double door refrigerator twice the size of the last one they had.

He walked back out into the living room and his mother told him to go upstairs and pick out a bedroom. He could have anyone he wanted expect, of course, for the master bedroom. He made his way upstairs and surveyed each room. Finally deciding on the bedroom farthest from his parents which had it's own bathroom.

The rest of the day was spent setting up the house. All of his stuff was in his room, he just needed to sort it out the way he wanted it. He went into the kitchen to get himself something to drink, and his mother came in holding a letter in one hand.

"What's this? A letter from Jake Kane?" She said out loud as she opened it and read it. Aaron Echolls walked in just as Lynn exclaimed excitedly, "Our first welcome to the area invite. Jake and Celeste Kane want to welcome us by having us over their house for lunch. Isn't that exciting dear?"

"Jake Kane? He's that guy who just became a billionaire isn't he? For inventing some computer thing?" Aaron Echolls thought about it. "Sure we can go over there for lunch. When is it?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." Lynn answered as she checked the invitation again. "It says to call and R.S.V.P as soon as we get this. Since the phone was just hooked up, I think I'll do that."

As she made the phone call, Logan got his drink and slipped out the door and back up to his room as he blasted his music from the stereo he just hooked up.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Welcome to Neptune. I'm Jake Kane, and this is my wife Celeste, and our two children Duncan and Lilly." Jake greeted the Echolls at the front door.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Aaron Echolls, and this is my wife Lynn and my son Logan. Thank you for inviting us into your lovely home." He poured on the charm.

"It was our pleasure. When we heard you were moving to this area, we knew your family and our family would get along well." Celeste almost sounded charming.

They walked into the living room and sat down. Jake turned to his son Duncan and suggested that he show Logan around the house and hang out until lunch was ready. The two of them stood up and walked out of the room with Lilly trailing close behind. There was no way she was going to stay in a room with boring adults when she could be with the newest hottie in her very own home.

Duncan mind-numbingly droned on during the tour about nothing in particular, and Lilly followed behind Logan flirting as much as she could without her brother Donut finding out. Logan loved the attention he was receiving. He never had a girlfriend, but he had girls who were friends. Even some he kissed. Soon he would turn 13, and he felt ready enough to start looking for a girlfriend, and Lilly was making his choice easy.

They made their way back towards the living just in time for their meal to be served. Logan sat down between Duncan and Lilly, and every once in a while, Lilly would put her hand on his thigh and make slow circles with the tips of her fingers. That caused Logan to drop his fork more than once and having Jake ask if he was okay while Lilly just giggled.

The men went on and on about their careers and how they came to have the money they each had. The woman went on and on about their days spent at the spa and who they knew. Celeste invited Lynn to all the 'hotspots' of Neptune, and she accepted.

It was all just more phony crap to Logan. He grew up learning that everything was about money and who you knew, and to act like he was better than everyone else. Despite the parents getting along, Logan knew he would grow to like the Kane siblings.

XOXOXOXOXO

Logan followed Lilly as she took a seat in the stands. All day she had been showing him around town, and this was their last stop for the day.

"So who are we watching again?"

Logan wanted to know as they sat down and some girls swarmed around her gossiping and giggling. Lilly finally answered him when her posse calmed down.

"Well number 7, that's Donut. And number 5, that's my best friend Veronica. I don't know why, but they both insist on playing soccer. How anyone could play a sport is beyond me. I mean besides the dirt…"

Logan drowned her out as he focused in on the players. He found number 5, and wanted to see what she looked like, and if she was any good. She seemed to move about the field with grace, as her long blonde hair flapped in the wind. She was good. Really good. So good in fact, that he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her as the game went on and on.

Lilly's voice swarmed around his hearing like an annoying fly that won't stop buzzing as she yakked away with her friends about the latest fashion and who was seen with who over the course of the summer.

When number 5 went to kick the ball into the net, she was taken down by some guy who dove at her from the side. Before he knew it, he was on his feet and shouting at the guy just like everyone else in the stands. He noticed Lilly look over at the field, and as it slowly dawned on her that it was her best friend on the ground not moving, she stood up and grasped his arm painfully as she covered her mouth with her other hand.

They stood there and watched as a couple he assumed were her parents and the coach run out onto the field to see if she was okay. The two of them let out a sigh of relief when they saw her get up and try to walk it off. Lilly caught Logan's sigh, and turned to give him a searching look. He felt her eyes on him, and suddenly he was embarrassed. After all, how can he be relieved for someone he's never met before? He tried to play it off as if he were watching a game on TV and a player got hurt. Even though he doesn't know that person, he would still cringe as if he felt the injury.

Finally everyone in the crowd sat back down as the field cleared and she placed the ball on the ground. She backs up and bounces on her heels as she thinks about where she's going to kick the ball. Lilly still held his arm, but he didn't notice as he felt himself tense up in anticipation. He wants her to score the goal.

Finally, she runs forwards and kicks the ball. He jumps up to his feet with Lilly beside him doing the same thing, as they watched the ball sink into the net. They both jump up and down and cheer out loud as they slap each other high fives. Lilly grabs his hand and pulls him onto the field.

He watches as Duncan puts his arm around her shoulders, and his stomach clenches. He plays it off as being excited. He smiles as her dad congratulates her and pulls her in for a bear hug. He wished once in a while that his father would do that for him. But he wouldn't dwell on that right now.

"Hey Veronica I want you to meet a new friend. Veronica Mars, meet Logan Echolls, son of movie stars Lynn and Aaron Echolls." Lilly said.

Veronica turned to face him, and he noticed that she caught him scowling at the way he was introduced. The way he was always introduced to someone. As if he wasn't important enough to be addressed as himself. He watched as she blushed ever so slightly and rolled her eyes at Lilly as she stuck out her hand to shake his hand.

He was surprised by the way she greeted him and talked to him as if she were meeting someone normal for the first time, and not someone who was the son of a movie star. He was even more surprised when she invited him to join them for their victory meal. How could he refuse her? Right then and there, he knew the two of them were going to become best friends.

XOXOXOXOXO

The next day the four of them met up at the Kane's estate. Jake and Celeste were out for the day, so they chose to hang out there so they wouldn't be interrupted by annoying grown ups.

First they lounged around the house and watched a movie. Soon they got bored of that, so they went out by the pool to go swimming. The guys splashed around with the girls as Lilly protested about not wanting her hair to get wet.

The boys zeroed in on Veronica just in time to see she was MIA. They looked out of the pool just in time to see her yell out, "cannon ball!" and a tidal wave of water washed over them. She came up out of the water already laughing. Logan seized this opportunity to get even. He swam up to her from behind and grabbed her around the waist. He proceeded to dump her underwater, but she somehow managed to wiggle her way out of his arms. She didn't get far because Duncan was close behind. He grabbed both her arms and held them behind her back. Logan swam up and proceeded to tickle her sides. She tried wiggling her way out of their grasps, but she was stuck. All she could do was gasp for air as she couldn't stop laughing. Finally he could see that she had enough, so he stopped and Duncan let go of her.

Before they could turn around, she had grabbed a mini surf board and started making waves with it soaking the boys in the process, nearly drowning them. Finally they all looked liked drowned rats, and the exhaustion took over, so they got out and they lounged around the pool drying off.

"Duncan, sweetie, we're home." Celeste called out as she walked outside. She stopped short as she noticed Veronica. "Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?" She asked not so nicely.

"Mom! Don't," Duncan pleaded.

"What? I just want to know what she was doing here," Celeste went for acting innocently. Then she noticed Logan. "Hello Logan."

"Hey Mrs. K." Was Logan's simple answer. He wanted to know why Celeste would greet someone like that. Especially someone as innocent as Veronica. He'd come to learn that she wouldn't even harm a fly. So for someone to be so openly rude to her, seemed foreign to him. He could see the sadness in her eyes. He bet Celeste was the only one mean to her.

"Come on guys. Let's go to my room." Duncan said as they got up and wrapped their towels around their waist and they walked by Celeste and up to Duncan's room.

Once they all settled on Duncan's bed they thought of games to play. Finally they decided on Truth or Dare.

"I'll go first. Lilly Truth or Dare?" Logan started.

Lilly smiled. "Dare of course."

Logan smiled as well. "Ok Lilly, I dare you to kiss your brother on the cheek for 5 seconds."

Duncan and Veronica's eyes went wide, and Lilly smiled. She leaned into Duncan and pressed her lips to his cheek for 5 seconds, and then pulled away. Duncan made a show of wiping his cheek as hard as he could, as Veronica laughed from the expression Lilly was making.

"Alright Veronica, it's your turn. Truth or Dare?" Lilly turned to the still laughing girl. She sobered up right away and blushed ever so slightly.

"Truth." She mumbled.

"Of course, I should have known better. Ok fine. Veronica Mars, what do you think about Logan?"

Veronica's blush darkened and Logan perked up. He wanted to know the answer to this question as well.

"Umm, he's… you know, cute and all." Veronica stopped as she tried to hide her blush.

"Buuut…" Lilly tried to get out of her.

"Buuut the question is over. I answered it. Logan, Truth or Dare?" Veronica avoided the rest of that thought.

Logan frowned when he didn't hear a full answer from her. He continued to play along anyway.

"Dare."

"Ok, I dare you to…" She scrunches up her nose and tilts her head to the side as she thinks about this. "I dare you to let Lilly paint your nails hot pink and you have to keep it on for a week."

Logan's jaw drops open as she giggles. He never expected that from her. Lilly openly laughs as she runs into her room and finds her hot pink nail polish. She comes back into the room and sits down facing him. She grabs his hand and holds on as she proceeds to paint his nails bright pink. He starts to laugh with everyone else as the cleverness of it sinks in.

When that was done with, he turned to Duncan and asked him, "Truth or Dare?" Duncan thought about it, like he was going to choose, dare, but in the end said, "Truth" instead.

"Duncan who do you fantasize at night about?" Was Logan's question.

Duncan and Veronica both blush bright red, and Logan and Lilly chuckled at their innocence.

"Good one Logan. This I gotta hear." Lilly said as she leans in to hear the answer she knew would be muffled. Logan leaned in as well.

"NotfairIshouldn'tVeronicahavetoanswerMarsthisquestion." Duncan talks as fast as he could. Everyone missed the answer he mumbled somewhere in that babble, but Lilly caught it.

"Veronica Mars! I knew it! Donut has a thing for my best friend!" Lilly exclaimed. Duncan and Veronica were practically crimson, and Logan forced a smile.

"Lilly, Truth or Dare?" Duncan quickly changed the subject.

"Dare of course." Lilly drawled.

"Ok fine, I Dare you to kiss Logan on the lips for 5 seconds." Lilly got a triumphant look on her face, as Veronica and Logan's took on one of surprise.

Lilly closes in on her pray, and for a second, Logan looks scared. Then her lips capture his and his eyes flare with passion. Ten seconds go by, then twenty more. Finally Veronica clears her throat, and reluctantly Lilly pulls back. They are both panting for air as their cheeks flush from the heat of the moment. Finally able to gather herself, Lilly turns to Veronica, "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." She answers back trying to summon courage.

"I dare you to kiss my brother on the lips for 5 seconds," Was Lilly's reply. Very shyly, she leans into Duncan, and ever so slowly, places her lips gently on his. He gently pushes back, as they ever so gently kiss. Lilly makes a show of yawning, and Logan rolls his eyes. They both pull apart quickly, and Veronica turns to Lilly.

"What?"

"Bo-oring! What the hell kind of kiss was that?"

"Too late my turns over." Veronica protested. "Lilly truth or Dare?"

"Why must you keep asking, it's always going to be Dare."

"I Dare you to suck your own toes and then kiss Logan again."

"No way!" Logan yelled out in disgust.

Logan threw his hands up in protest as Lilly raised her foot towards her mouth. She sucked her toes and leaned into Logan puckering her lips. She laid a big wet one on his lips, and he backed away pretending to gag. Kind of like Duncan did when Lilly kissed him.

"Veronica, Truth or Dare?" Logan asked her.

She made a show of thinking what to choose, and finally went with, "Dare." Logan smiled wickedly and Veronica looked worried.

"I Dare you to go downstairs and give Mrs. Kane a hug."

Veronica gasped and Lilly laughed so hard she nearly fell off the bed. Veronica's mouth opened and closed like a fish as she tried to think of something coherent to say. Finally not being able to think of anything to say, she started to mumble angrily to herself as she made her way out of the room, as everyone else followed her.

Jake and Celeste were sitting in the kitchen talking about boring political stuff when Veronica marched into the room. They looked up at her as the others followed her in.

"Mrs. Kane?" Veronica asked with steely determination.

"What now Veronica?" Celeste said snidely as Jake shot her a look.

Veronica took a deep breath, and quickly walked over to Celeste and wrapped her arms around the older woman. The elder Kane's jaw comes unhinged as she quickly pulls back and runs from the kitchen and back up into Duncan's room where she shut and locked the door. She could hear laughter from outside the door, and she could barely hear shouting coming from downstairs. Then came pounding on the door when they realized it was locked. She opened the door, and they fell into the room.

As she realized the shouting was getting louder, she froze realizing she had no way of getting home. She ran to Duncan's phone and quickly dialed her parent's number and had her mom come pick her up. She then ran down the stairs as quietly as possible and waited outside down by the gate.


	2. By Neko Kuroban

**Title**: From The Beginning

**Chapter**: Two  
**Series**: _Veronica Mars_  
**Characters**: Logan, Lilly, Veronica, Duncan – no overt romance, just friendship.  
**Summary**: A continuation of From The Beginning by Heatherb5

**Rating**: PG.  
**Feedback**: Please!  
**Dedication**: To my co-author for being more than patient!  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own it.

**From the Beginning**

**Chapter Two**

**Neko Kuroban**

"_Each friend represents a world within us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."_

"So…"

Veronica felt her mother's piercing gaze on her, and her back stiffened in reflex. The twelve-year-old girl was hardly shy, especially not around her family or friends. She just knew that Mom had been drinking on the sly again – even a glass of white wine when Dad was home could lead to her parents' door-slamming arguments, the kind that echoed discordant in Veronica's bones for days after the initial fight.

"Is the new boy you've been play-" She caught herself just in time. "Hanging out with cute?"

"Mom!" Veronica protested, picking up her barely touched plate. Dinner had pretty much been dead on arrival. Dad had gotten a call and gone rushing out ("to save the day," her mother had bitterly put it); Mom had forgotten to strain the water from the pasta so it turned out terribly soft in places, stuck together in others. When poured from the can (three for ninety-nine cents; Lianne Mars never could resist a bargain), it had been a violent, unnatural shade of crimson and tasted only of aluminum. Afraid to wound her mother's feelings, Veronica had been careful to compliment "the, um, color".

"Well?" Her mother's eyes – so much like her own, Dad always insisted – were almost mischievous as she pried the dish from Veronica's slender fingers. "Put the butter away," she said, cocking her head in the direction of the plastic container on the faux marbled countertop. "And answer my question."

Veronica was saved by the voices coming from the front yard, audible through the windows, open against the oppressive summer heat.

"Dun-can't, I don't think she's home."

"The Le Baron's here."

"That doesn't mean…"

Heading to the front door, Veronica lifted a hand to wave, then halted, her blue-green eyes widening. She stopped in the doorway, her blonde hair made into a halo. The dim hallway leading to the kitchen was like an artery leading to the heart, promising warmth at its core. "What the…" Lilly, she knew, suspected that Veronica was too good and brimming with pretty-in-pink virtues to continue. The blonde felt a small amount of pride at shattering this notion. "Lilly, what the _hell_ is that?"

Lilly caressed the dusty white vinyl of the seat with a loving hand. "An all-purpose, all-terrain, four-passenger vehicle." She emphasized the four. "It's good over both the green and the rough, and it has a maximum speed of three kilometers an hour."

"It's a golf cart." Duncan hastened to amend, offering Veronica a smile in greeting.

"Yeah, I can see that." And she had planned to spend the night keeping an eye on Mom and re-reading _Jane Eyre_…

"So!" Lilly began exuberantly, cutting off the golf cart's engine. "Should we call Logan before we go get him?"

"Um, Lil?" Veronica broached the subject hesitantly, stepping onto the front porch. "You realize that Logan can _walk_ here faster than that golf cart can get to his house, right?"

Lilly climbed out of the vehicle, her tan, toned arms lifting over her head, skimpy halter top rising several inches up her lean abdomen as she stretched languidly. "Why, Veronica, I do declare!" Lilly proclaimed in her finest imitation of a southern accent, and, indeed, one her small, manicured hand fluttered to clutch her necklace, all but an impression of her own mother. "I reject your reality and substitute my own."

"Veronica!" Her mother's voice was clear and strident from the kitchen. "Tell Lilly and her brother to come in!"

"They don't need an invitation." Veronica answered cheekily, though she motioned for her friends to enter, closing the door behind him.

"Hi, Lianne!" Lilly chirped brightly, launching into her perfected "friend's parent" routine. Duncan greeted her a little more calmly, even as his sister kept up a steady stream of chatter.

Killer, Veronica's ancient mutt, lumbered in, giving a weak series of raw-throated barks. Veronica bent almost immediately, burying her fingers up to the knuckle in coarse ebony fur, chiding him affectionately, "Who's a good boy?" After a few moments, she halted when she realized her mom was staring. "What?" She asked, indifferent, and got to her feet to retrieve the small bag of soft, expensive treats they made for dogs losing their teeth. Her mother smirked and winked in Duncan's direction, instantly making Veronica uncomfortable. "_What_?"

"Sorry, 'Ronica," Lilly said, a certain degree of self-satisfaction etched in the lines of her round face, pivoting to regard Veronica with the lithe grace of a long-legged cheetah. "We're all plotting how to lure you into the graveyard at midnight to sacrifice you to Odin, the Greek god."

("Norse," Duncan corrected. "The Greek god's Zeus.")

"Oh!" Veronica breathed, the very same tone she guessed _a pony_ whenever her father divulged that he had a surprise for her. "Do I get to dress up like a fairy princess?"

"You could wear a tunic," Duncan suggested. His mouth twisted in amusement. "With glitter and be a nymph."

"You could get naked." Lilly actually pronounced it 'nekkid' as if to imply that the nudity would be solely for naughty purposes. It was a habit Veronica was sure Lilly had picked up from her older friends, casual friends that she only ever had light, surface relationships with. "Being the sacrifice to the underworld, and all."

"Your mythology is so wrong, it's not even funny."

Lilly tossed her hair, unruffled by her brother's remark. "In that case, my job here is done. Looks like it's time to go galloping off into the sunset."

"Pat on the back, Lone Ranger," Veronica noted absently, returning to help her mother clean the kitchen, a process that would not have taken nearly as long if the sauce hadn't bubbled over and hardened when it was left unattended. "Isn't there a cat in a tree somewhere?" Her tone indicated that there was no love lost between her and any feline.

Lianne waved her arm in protest at Veronicas' aid. "I've got it!"

"What can I do to help?" Lilly offered, which Veronica recognized was only due to her mother's refusal. Somehow, the suggestion drew to her mind the time Lilly had accidentally shattered the fluted goblets the girls had combed the mall searching for (to replace the ones that had been broken, ironically) and by the furrow of her high brow, Mom evidently remembered the occasion as well.

"You go sit on the couch or something." Mom said immediately, plucked golden eyebrows drawing together. "There's a _Friends_ rerun on, I'm sure."

_Does that count as torture under the Geneva Convention?_ Veronica screwed her face in disgust at the mention of the show, a motion Lilly mirrored. _Seriously, I should write to the U. N._

"Want me to get you another glass of wine, Mrs. Mars?" Duncan offered, seemingly having spied the half-empty cup that sat stagnant on the table. It was a plain, chipped mug; Veronica has assumed that it was tea, and Mom had insisted that was so. As always when she contemplated her mother's drinking, an icy knot formed in the pit of her stomach, spreading to her organs as Lianne assented.

Shockingly – though perhaps unsurprisingly – enough, it was Lilly who dragged the warmth in, Lilly who took Veronica's hand in hers and squeezed – hard. The strength was pure Lillian Kane at her finest: dominant and fierce and loving and blazing like a thousand suns in a white-hot desert. Veronica merely

(_wished that Lilly wouldn't turn her into the moon, destined to reflect her partner's light_)

tightened her hold on Lilly's hand, confident in knowing that the older girl would always, always be there, carrying her fiery light and her passions wherever she went.

When Veronica lowered her head to gaze at the linoleum, her hair fell forward to obscure her face. It was easier to drown out the world like this, even as Lilly made conversation with her mother, chatting blithely about how "cool" it was "that you guys have wine in a box", "why don't we have that at my house", and swiftly convinced Lianne to take a bath, with more tact than Veronica ever imagined that she possessed.

"A bubble bath sounds wonderful, Lilly." The despondent note in Lianne's voice and the way the recessed lights made her look older than her years caused a sudden surge of protectiveness in Veronica's heart. "I'll just leave you guys alone, then?" She reached out, as if to muss Veronica's long, white-gold hair, as she passed, only to let her hand fall, limp and lifeless, to her side. "There's a tiara on the cake in the freezer, if you still want to dress like a fairy princess."

Once she had slipped from the room, Duncan's attentions turned to Veronica. "You get a _princess_ cake for your birthday?"

"You didn't?" Veronica closed the dishwasher, fumbling with the buttons, wondering: _how pathetic is it that the only button that really works is the ultra-heavy one?_ Distantly, she heard the start of running water upstairs, white noise she did not bother to register.

"No," Duncan heaved a false sigh of long suffering. "The morning of my birthday, my dad said I should start working on my entrance essay for Harvard, so I can – and I quote – 'support my future my wife and children'. It was like, 'what'?"

"It's true," Lily put in, perching on the edge of the countertop. "I was there."

"Hey, is that fettuccine?" Duncan asked. "That's my favorite."

"No," Veronica answered, moving the plastic-wrapped bowl to the refrigerator. "Just spaghetti."

"Oh, yeah. _That_'s my favorite."

"You don't want any." Her voice brooked no argument. "Trust me."

From her vantage point on the counter, Lilly seized the cordless phone off of the wall-mounted charger. "Can I use your phone?" She asked, already dialing. "It's 709-555…then what?" She nudged Duncan in the thigh with her bare foot, her pink American Eagle flip flops having already been kicked off.

Duncan prodded her knee. "You should use your cell phone," he said as if he believed he was whispering. Curious as to what he thought, Veronica picked up an abandoned red rubber ball and tossed it to Killer, attempting to give the illusion of disinterest. However, her friend did not elucidate; Lilly never gave him a chance. Instead, she merely elbowed him in return, protesting that she was already over her minutes and, "I'm just gonna guess for these last few numbers. I think it's 4040."

"Lilly," Veronica began, but was quickly silenced by her companion's narrowed eyes.

"It's the wrong number," Lilly hissed in a low whisper, handing the phone to Veronica. "Leave a good message, though; Duncan says you've got good prank call fu." She passed her cell phone to her brother and pointed to the door. With something murmured that Veronica didn't quite manage to catch, he complied.

The answering machine was the generic, automated one that came with the phone. As the standard spiel was delivered in an unfaltering monotone, it reminded Veronica of buying a picture frame, only to keep within the smiling photograph of a stranger trapped in a moment of time. The moment the beep sounded, she slipped into a voice that was not hers. "Hi! This is Samantha Russel at the Planned Parenthood clinic. Please tell the resident of this house – they're sure to know who they are; we're sworn to discretion – that the tests came back positive. To discuss your options, please call the National Hopeline Network, toll-free, at 1-800-784-2433." She hung up with a click.

"Are they really sworn to secrecy?" Duncan asked.

"What's that phone number?" Lilly pressed.

Veronica allowed herself to offer a small grin. "The number I left really _was_ for the National Hopeline Network. Their number's 1-800-SUICIDE."

**X X X X X**

"I'm sorry, Lilly," Veronica reiterated for the fourth time in less than twenty minutes, scowling at the television screen.

"What's going on?" A familiar voice wanted to know, and Veronica did not need to turn around to know that Logan Echolls stood there in Pumas and Abercrombie and Fitch shorts, likely having let himself in. She hoped she wasn't blushing; he would catch it, and then Lilly would notice, and…well, things would get awkward. "What's that?" He jerked his head towards the television.

"Hold on." Duncan tried another series of numbers, and the message flashed on the screen once again:

_Incorrect code. _

_Please enter six-digit code to unlock this channel._

_oooooo_

"Her dad put a lock on the TV." Duncan offered by way of explanation, sounding resigned. "Veronica, when did you say your parents' anniversary was?"

As Logan sprawled on the couch between the two girls, Veronica struck something else out in the pocket-sized notebook she held. "We already tried that. We've done my birthday, Mom's birthday, Dad's birthday, Valentine's…"

"Maybe the day they…" Logan began, but Veronica swiftly cut him off.

"No good." She said, fingers tangling in her hair in frustration. She pulled it back into a ponytail, securing it deftly with a pink elastic band that had been around her wrist. "I was pre-mature, and I don't know by how much."

"That would explain why you're short." Duncan put in, and reached around to tweak the end of her ponytail affectionately. Blushing slightly, the girl fumbled for words.

Lilly snapped her compact shut, fresh from replacing her worn-off lip gloss. "We can't even watch the freaking news – not that we'd watch the news, but still… _The Simpsons_ comes on after that."

"Forget about _Buffy_." Duncan said as he tried another number.

"You've still got a crush on Sarah Michelle Gellar?" Lilly demanded, her voice rising a note in surprise. "Even after her nose job?"

"She doesn't _have_ a nose—"

Logan snatched the remote and hit the cancel button. The screen (muted since it had made a high-pitched whine when on the code entry screen) flashed to Weather Underground, where some bland blonde in a power suit was gesturing to a green screen. "Weather in Afghanistan," the boy ad-libbed. "Two thousand degrees and sunny."

"Screw this." Lilly declared, rising from the couch. "Let's take our hard-won – well, stolen – golf cart and go somewhere."

"Because my house officially sucks."

"A_w_," Lilly stretched it out, coating her tone with sugar. "Panda bear." The pet name confused Veronica, but made Duncan snort with laughter. _Inside joke_, she deduced. "Don't be so gloomy!" She lost the candy-sweetened edge, holding out her hand for a high-five. "Represent the ghetto." She looped her other arm around her friend, smiling.

"'Represent the ghetto'… so, what are we, like, officially a gang now?" Duncan asked, adding after a moment, "And can I be leader?"

"Depends," Logan cocked his head to the side. "What's our sign?"

"I know!" Lilly jumped in, eyes dancing with mischief. "V, do you have any of those gel bracelets?"

"I can't have them." Veronica admitted, a faint flush spreading along her high cheekbones and the bridge of her nose, turning her pale skin a pretty, rose-colored hue. "My dad won't let me; he says they're perverted."

"Because they _are_," Logan interjected. "At my old school, green on Thursdays meant you were pretty much desperate."

Duncan offered a wry smile. "Didn't you used to go to _Catholic _school?"

"I did." The younger boy flashed a grin. "Good Shepherd."

"What the crap, Veronica Mars?" Lilly made a face, and then gazed down at her own arms, which were laddered with the thin rubber bracelets. "You can't have little rubber bracelets that go five dollars for fifty at Claire's because your dad thinks innocent young girls are forced to do things when they're snapped."

"Those things are hard as hell to break," Duncan stage-whispered, causing Logan to laugh and Veronica to smile in amusement.

Lilly snorted with laughter and pulled off three yellow bracelets, pressing one into Logan's hand and holding the other two out for her best friend and her brother.

"The yellow ones are supposedly for hugs," Veronica commented, sliding it up so it rested comfortably on her wrist.

"Exactly. That way, if I ever need one, I'll know where to go."

**X X X X X**

Veronica would admit it.

When she went to pack a bag ("for the beach 'cause we'll probably end up there or my house"), she put in two comfortable cotton tank tops, her one-piece bathing suit and a pair of comfortable blue pajama shorts that she had no doubt that Lilly would mock. If the guys were going to be there… she rooted around until in her bottom dresser drawer until she found an old, heavily wrinkled t-shirt – a leftover from Camp Sunshine.

She paused in the upstairs hallway, listening to the sound of Lianne blow-drying her blonde hair, and she made her decision. Footsteps light, she went downstairs and stole into the formal dining room, opening the liquor cabinet. Boxes of inferior blush aside, this was where the hard booze was kept. She almost laughed at herself – what was she expecting? Decanters of cognac? There were just a few medicine-size bottles of drink, the kind that could be emptied over a few days. Or a single long afternoon, she tried not to think, as she slipped her mother's dirty little secret into her backpack.

"Veronica Mars!" Lilly called, stressing every syllable.

The harsh metal teeth of the zipper caught and she swore beneath her breath. "Coming, Lilly!"

**X X X X X**

"What's this?" Veronica asked, reaching for the box that sat between her and Duncan, the phrase _Kane Anti-Drug Foundation: Tips for Teens_ printed in harsh black lettering along the side. Her question was immediately lost in the din from the front seat.

"God, Logan, learn how to drive! Car!"

"I'm not the one who ran into a tree!"

"Kiss my ass!"

"Bend ov-"

"Guys!" Duncan reprimanded sharply.

"Don't go turning into the father figure here," Lilly said, looking down her nose at him as she twisted around in the front seat.

"Don't make me turn this golf cart around." Logan threatened, and though he remained facing forward, Veronica could tell that he had a wicked grin on his face.

**X X X X X**

They all ended up in Logan's guesthouse, sitting on the floor and playing Dreamcast ("Freaking Taiwanese crap!" Lilly had declared as she struggled to figure out the controller; Veronica, who had an aptitude for arcade-style shooting games, refrained from correcting her).

Sometime in the night, they had slipped into routine contentment. Veronica slipped in a mix tape that she had made – it had actually been startlingly difficult to find a tape player in the Echolls' house, and she'd had to settle for plugging the sleek stereo's speakers into her Walkman. The music had played softly, something that almost, but not entirely, resembled Enya, as they watched a two-hour marathon of South Park, sprawling out on a king-sized air mattress. Lilly found a bottle of champagne and managed to open it with Logan's Swiss Army Knife; she added minute splashes to glasses of orange juice. ("Veronica, chill. It's not drinking. My mom has one every Mother's Day, and lets me drink it.") They weren't drunk, Veronica certainly didn't think, but it leant a warm, rosy glow to the atmosphere.

Around midnight, Duncan turned off the television, muting the room except for the languid strains of soft music.

"Thanks," Lilly said faintly, stretching her arms over her head – and cuffing Veronica on the ear in her process, eliciting a pained process. "Sorry." She apologized quickly, flipping onto her back.

"Your feet are freezing," Logan told Veronica, who lay beside him, breath warm.

"Well, what am I _supposed _to do with them?" She muttered, though she did move her right foot from where it had pressed against the warm flesh of his shin.

After several long moments, they settled into a tangled heap of hair and limbs and clothes.

"This is like an orgy," Lilly giggled, with Veronica following suit.

"Did you know that in the state of California, an orgy is only an orgy when more than two people have their socks off?"

Logan's characteristic laughter rose out of the dimness –- the only light came from the hidden lights around the pool and the garden, casting a faint, green-stained glow around the pool house. "Of course our Ronnie would be looking up the law on old-fashioned foursomes."

"I don't mean this in, like, a gay way or anything," Duncan began. (Logan snorted and made a comment that Veronica missed. "Aw, Duncan. You're just too far in the closet to function." Lilly chirruped.) "And it's probably the mimosas talking –- dude, shut up – but I love you guys. They always say that friends are the family you meet along the way, right?"

Veronica felt the smile playing at her lips as she made herself comfortable beneath the eiderdown blanket. "Yeah, same here."

**X X X X X**

Lilly, as often happened, was the first to wake up. Gingerly, she extricated herself from the tangled mess they had ended up in, not an easy task since Veronica's hand was thrown across her abdomen and Logan's left leg had slipped over Veronica's so that their ankles touched. It struck Lilly as somehow poignant.

However, that could wait. She padded to the bathroom, and cleaned up a little, running a comb through her tangled, blonde hair, smirking into the mirror in the first trivial smile of the day.

Her stomach growled, and she frowned. They had ordered a pizza the night before, but she had declined, only eating a slice and leaving the crust.

She should make breakfast, she decided. Logan's parents wouldn't care; they always told her that she could take full advantage of everything. She nudged her brother awake. "Hey, Duncan, wanna make pancakes?"


End file.
